CNN Article On Illiteracy In College Hoops

[BarnBurner]

Like how they banned UConn from the postseason?



They should've ignored the goings-on at Penn St., because the NCAA has zero jurisdiction over criminal violations.

Why do people engage in such gymnastics to rationalize away the cheating done by Minnesota over the years? Does anyone deny that it happened? Instead of worrying about how others may or may not be doing a better job of cheating and not getting caught, worry about not cheating at all. An institution can't control the actions of others, but it can maintain its own internal compliance.

I did not rationalize anything. I am not in denial that it happened.

If you read the post, it clearly points to the NCAA to be consistent. You seem to have missed that part.

Not surprising.

 

[BarnBurner]

What then is the point of whining about how poor, poor Minnesota is targeted for special punishment by the NCAA?

One trick pony? First people complain that I argue about everything, and now I'm a one trick pony? It can't be both, so which is it?

Consistency of application of the rules and penalties.

Who is in denial now Dolly?

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

UNC's response is unsurprising. They deny knowing anything, and then when an email shows they did, they admit knowing what the email proves: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/us/ncaa-athletes-unc-response/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

 

[WanderingGopher]

One trick pony? First people complain that I argue about everything, and now I'm a one trick pony? It can't be both, so which is it?

How about simply "B*tch"?

 

[BarnBurner]

UNC's response is unsurprising. They deny knowing anything, and then when an email shows they did, they admit knowing what the email proves: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/us/ncaa-athletes-unc-response/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Of course.

Just like K at Duke has never, ever cheated.

 

[GoodasGold]

Of course.

Just like K at Duke has never, ever cheated.

...or used a bad word.

 

[forestlaker]

Maybe a vocational track could be included: take classes in plumbing, auto repair, carpentry, etc. I also wonder if it would be helpful to separate out athletics from academics at the high school and junior high level. Make athletics community based not school based. Allow kids to travel to other districts for academics but play sports in their local community. Like summer programs often due now. Doing this would keep separate academic eligibility from athletic eligibility. This could then continue on at the college level.

My personal solution: create a dual track for college sports.

If a player wants to enroll as a student and also play sports, great. But for athletes who have no desire (or ability) to do college-level athletic work, and are hoping to pursue a career in athletics, then you have a separate track. Athletes sign a contract with a college. The athlete receives a stipend equal to the cost of an athletic scholarship. In return, the athlete agrees to a code of conduct, and has the option to take basic and/or remedial classes and "life skills" classes - basics on handling money, etc. Any violations of the code of conduct (drugs, DWI's, etc) and the athlete loses their stipend and may no longer compete in athletics.

I know some would say this is admitting defeat. I look at it as accepting reality. Drop the pretense of the "student-athlete" and eliminate the need/incentive for schools to cheat to keep players eligible.

In a perfect world, there would be a minor-league system for FB or Basketball equivalent to what baseball and hockey have. But, until that day, like it or not, college athletic programs are the minor-league system.

And a tongue-in-cheek thought - if the TV rights fees keep going up, maybe ESPN could run its own minor-league system for FB and basketball - think of all the programming it would provide.

 

[maroonedinCA]

No way. People get denied from unc who score a 30 on the ACT. You're rewarding someone for being a collegiate athlete but punishing others for being scholars. Completely not fair

Why is it completely "not fair" (probably should be "unfair" if we're going to be on a scholastic high horse)? Universities don't have an obligation to promote only the most scholastically intelligent people. Fantastic scientists have had learning disabilities. Great actors/musicians could not pass an entry level economics course. Should they not be a part of the academic experience at a major university? Their gifts are a benefit to the rest of the general student population. They offer a different perspective and an opportunity for the rest of the student body to view the world in a different way.

I studied at a top MBA program in the world and found many of the contributions of my classmates from less traditional backgrounds, even if they scored lower on a standardized test, to be extremely valuable. Do I feel I was smarter than them? Yes. Do I feel that their contributions to the classroom were less than mine? Not even close.

A different perspective gives everyone the chance to think differently. Maybe with college basketball players it gives someone the appreciation that some people are horribly behind the curve due to the fact that the grew up in a particular zip code but at the very least they have a great talent at something (a spot up jump shot) that is no less valuable than my ability to calculate a discounted cash flow.

Talent is talent. And the primary objective of a university is to develop talents across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Athletics is one of those disciplines.

 

[RodentRampage]

Maybe a vocational track could be included: take classes in plumbing, auto repair, carpentry, etc. I also wonder if it would be helpful to separate out athletics from academics at the high school and junior high level. Make athletics community based not school based. Allow kids to travel to other districts for academics but play sports in their local community. Like summer programs often due now. Doing this would keep separate academic eligibility from athletic eligibility. This could then continue on at the college level.

If you spin the Gophers into a private entity separate from the university, they aren't the Gophers any more.

 

[GoodasGold]

If you spin the Gophers into a private entity separate from the university, they aren't the Gophers any more.

So we'll call them the Plumbers.

 

[RodentRampage]

You can get a degree in art, music or dance. You cannot get a degree in playing basketball. Science students sometimes grumble about having to take humanities classes, students of the humanities sometimes grumble about having to take math and science. But it's part of the degree. An actor, a musician or a dancer is perfectly free not to go to college if they don't want to do what a college degree requires. Some choose to go to schools that aren't colleges, where all they get is education in acting, music or dance. A music student who is unable or unwilling to meet the requirements of a college degree will flunk out. College sports should be no different. If athletes are unable to unwilling to meet the requirements of a college degree, they should feel free to play elsewhere.

 

[tikited]

Students today study far less than their parents did when they went to college. The critical thinking skills are lacking in the entire generation.

This.

 

[GopherJake]

I also wonder if it would be helpful to separate out athletics from academics at the high school and junior high level.

You want to divorce something that builds school pride from the schools? What percentage of students that participate in school-based junior high and high school sports play beyond high school? Not every participant is a superstar D1 athlete.

 

[XMan]

This is spot on. Students today study far less than their parents did when they went to college. The critical thinking skills are lacking in the entire generation. Teachers years ago used to be the brightest women (they went into nursing or teaching) then the feminist revolution made other opportunities available for women and teaching started attracting many from the bottom quadrant of the population. How do they survive without getting fired? The teacher's union and grade inflation. No one wants to fire the teacher that gave their kid an A. The AVERAGE grade at my local high school is 4.0 (on a 4.0 scale with weighted grades). So students going to college hadn't been challenged by the sharpest minds. Then the U.S. government decided to guarantee student loans. Like the mortgage crisis…all of a sudden anyone could get a big big loan to go to school. What happened? The cost of college rose faster than healthcare where now it costs nearly $250,000 to go to private school and about half that to go to public school (depending on your state). All of a sudden the dorms are fancy, the food is good and the buildings are lights out sweet. Why? Because money is like a drug and the schools have become completely addicted to it. Now many professors teach ONLY ONE CLASS. They used to teach many more in the 50s and 60s. This is all paid with incredibly high tuition. They need students to keep paying so what do they do? Reduce standards. The article below tells of the latest study that shows 45% of the students learn nothing in the first 2 years. Other studies show that students now study far, far fewer hours than their parents did. Schools are run like a business trying to make money not trying to educate kids. That's why when you get a coach like Coach Kill, you want to hold on to him because he actually cares about the students he coaches.

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/academically-adrift/?_r=0

Wow this could be one of the lamest posts of the year, full of non-truthful statements.